


Ok, Who Had Natural Disasters On Their 2020 Bingo Card

by paintedbluerose



Series: Whumptober [27]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Captured, Does loss of bending count as power outage?, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Or maybe they just bros, Protective Sokka (Avatar), There might be hints if you look close enough, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, Zukka possibility, Zuko (Avatar) whump, Zuko a little cold
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:47:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27237538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedbluerose/pseuds/paintedbluerose
Summary: Zuko visits the Southern Water Tribe and a sudden blizzard strikes during a hunt. Wait...is that a storm or is that waterbending? Wait...where’s Zuko?Day 27 of Whumptober theme: Ok, who had natural disasters on their 2020 bingo card?Prompts: earthquake, extreme weather, power outage
Relationships: Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar), Hakoda & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Water Tribe & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Whumptober [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950010
Comments: 10
Kudos: 156





	Ok, Who Had Natural Disasters On Their 2020 Bingo Card

**Author's Note:**

> At first I had no idea what to do for this. I mean, weather? As a Whump? Eh...I guess? Then I had this idea that Zuko was visiting the water tribe and there was a blizzard (extreme weather) and then this idea started forming and I got excited! 
> 
> Also, does a firebending (or any bender) losing their bending count as a power outage? Maybe?

It was a little over a year since the last time Zuko was at the Southern Water Tribe but with a vastly different attitude. This time, he wasn’t an angry teenager with a desire to capture the Avatar for honor. He was just a teenager with deep regret of how he acted. Thankfully, the tribe was willing to look past his last visit. Zuko was sure it had to do something with Hakoda and the prison break but said nothing.

It was nice that he could relax a bit and not worry about politics. Sure, the reason for his visit was to discuss the treaty but it wasn’t going to take long. He and Hakoda got along great and agreed to most everything proposed. So of course Zuko agreed to spend a few days hunting with the tribe even though he had never been and had no idea what to do.

The first day was mostly spent watching the other men hunt. The next couple were a bit more active but didn’t have many results. The fourth was much better but not enough for the growing Water Tribe. It was the fifth and final day of hunting that the decision to split up to cover more ground was agreed upon. Zuko ended up with Sokka and Yutu, a waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe who relocated to the Southern Tribe.

Zuko thought the man odd and quiet but shrugged it off. Sure Yutu volunteered to go with them, but Zuko was a firebender, their once enemy. Perhaps Yutu was a bit nervous of Zuko. Maybe Yutu wanted to get to know Zuko better but was afraid. Whatever it was, there was almost no conversation.

“That’s odd.” Sokka stopped walking and looked towards the sky.

“What is it?” Zuko wasn’t sure what Sokka was looking at.

“It looks like a storm is on its way but there shouldn’t be any storms. It’s not the time for them.”

“Maybe it’s an early one.” Yutu suggested. “We used to get a few of them in the North.”

“Yeah but this looks different.”

Zuko walked away from the two of them, towards where the storm appeared to be coming from. The more Zuko looked, the more Sokka was right. It didn’t look like a normal storm. Almost as if...

“It looks like it’s from a-“

Zuko turned around as he and Sokka came to the same conclusion only to see Sokka on the ground. No wonder he didn’t finish what he was saying. “From a waterbender.” Zuko finished even though he didn’t need to.

Yutu stood over Sokka and held a knife to his throat. Zuko wouldn’t be able to get to Sokka fast enough. “Yes, it does. Maybe that’s because a waterbender is controlling the storm.” Yutu said as the snow picked up. “There’s water everywhere. It doesn’t take much to bend the water to make it look like a storm.”

“I take it you have a reason for doing this?” Zuko inched closer to them, hoping Yutu wouldn’t notice what he was doing. If he could get close enough, he could free Sokka.

“I do, but I’m not telling you right now.” Yutu switched hands holding the knife and pulled out a flask. “Not with you coming closer. Right now, you’re going to drink what’s in here.” Yutu tossed the flask to Zuko.

Although his brain told him not to catch the flask, he ended up catching it as a reflex. “What’s in it?”

Yutu laughed. “Don’t worry. It won’t kill you. But if you don’t drink, I will kill Sokka.”

Zuko hesitated, trying to think of a way out of it. Yutu saw the hesitation and dug the knife in deeper and a small trail of blood slid down Sokka’s neck. “Okay! Stop!” Zuko opened the flask and downed the contents. He coughed from the bitterness.

“Good. I knew you were smart.” Yutu dropped Sokka and walked towards Zuko. Snow built up around Zuko, encasing him in.

Zuko was struggling to maintain focus. There was too much snow and he couldn’t see. It didn’t help he was starting to feel dizzy. And maybe a bit cold.  _Oh no_. Cold! The realization of what he drank sank in. There was no way he should be cold unless his firebending was blocked.

“I see you’ve realized what you drank. I really couldn’t have you firebend your way out of this. A blizzard is coming Firelord. It’s a shame you’ll be stuck out in one without your bending.”

Zuko felt his eyelids grow heavy. He blinked and noticed he fell down. He closed his eyes and he couldn’t open them back up. The last thing he heard was Yutu laughing.

~~~~

Sokka moaned as he woke up. He felt warmth around him so he wasn’t outside anymore. He struggled with remembering what happened. Walking and not much else. Was there a storm?

“You’re awake! I was worried for while.” Sokka blinked and saw Yutu sitting nearby.

“Where are we? What happened?”

“There was a random storm. We weren’t near a cave but I made a quick igloo to protect us. It’s not the best but it works.”

“Oh.” Sokka looked around and noticed someone missing. “Where’s Zuko?”

Yutu turned his head away. “He attacked us. Knocked you out. I had to fight him as much as I could. He threatened you. I managed to knock him out and carried you away. I’m sorry.”

“He attacked us?” Sokka knew that had to be a lie. There was no way Zuko would attacked them. There was no way Zuko would hurt any of them, especially Sokka. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It doesn’t. He started to slit your throat. I caught him in time.”

Sokka rubbed his neck and felt a small slit and dried blood. It didn’t make sense but then Sokka was injured. If it wasn’t Zuko, it meant it was Yutu which was not a good idea to accuse a waterbender in the middle of a frozen wasteland full of snow and ice. No, he had to be smart about it. He needed to find his father, get away from Yutu, and find Zuko. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long.

“We should look for the others. If Zuko attacked us, he could attack them.” He chocked on the accusation. “Not all of them have waterbenders with them.”

“Of course.” Yutu nodded. With one quick movement, the igloo was dismantled.

~~~~

Zuko woke up with a throbbing headache. He was freezing and he couldn’t seem to warm himself up. It dawned on him why he couldn’t warm himself up. He couldn’t bend.

He sighed and took in his surroundings. He was in a cave or igloo with a small opening in an upper corner. It was enough to see the sun or moon but not enough to climb out of. Snow and ice coated the walls so it would be hard to climb up and out. And it was up high, not low where he could see someone walk by and scream for help.

Zuko was half submerged in a small body of water that appeared to be there just to hold him. Ice covered his chest and arms to where he couldn’t move. He was frozen, literally, to the ground. With his bending he could melt away the ice and escape. Without his bending, it would be difficult and if he didn’t escape soon enough, he would freeze to death.

He moved as much as he could, aiming for the cave wall, so he could break some of the ice. Since he didn’t have much movement he wasn’t able to get much of anything off. The most that chipped off was a piece the size of Momo’s fist. At this rate, he would freeze before he could remove anything bigger than Momo.

After a few minutes of chipping away the ice, he had to stop. He was wearing himself out. It was so cold and the water was soaking through his clothes. His parka had been removed, which meant less warmth. Even with his bending he would be cold.

“This isn’t good.” Zuko muttered to himself. “Yutu knew what he was doing.” He shook his head. If he hadn’t lost his bending, he would be out of there. If he hadn’t drunken what was in the flask, he’d still have his bending. If he hadn’t drunken it, Sokka would be dead. There was no choice. He’d do it again if it meant Sokka was alive.

~~~~

It didn’t take long for them to find Hakoda. A few men had already started to gather back together. Sokka hoped that would mean he could find Zuko without any problems.

“Sokka, Yutu! You guys are just in time. Wemanaged to find more than enough!” Hakoda said.

“That’s great dad.” Sokka attempted a smile.

“Where’s Zuko?”

“I need to talk to you about that.” Sokka cut in before Yutu could say anything. “Can I speak with you? Privately?”

“Sure son.”

Sokka nodded to Yutu as Sokka and Hakoda walked past him. Sokka and Yutu came to an agreement that Sokka would be the one to tell his father and the rest of the Tribe but he didn’t trust the waterbender not to say anything.

“What’s the matter?” Hakoda asked once they were far away enough.

“I was knocked out and Yutu said Zuko attacked us and tried to kill me.” Sokka showed his father the small scar.

“That doesn’t seem like Zuko.”

“I know. I don’t think it was Zuko. You know he wouldn’t do that.”

“Yutu is lying. Which means Zuko is in trouble.”

“Exactly. But I couldn’t accuse Yutu of anything when I don’t know where Zuko is or what happened to him. Not to mention, he’s a waterbender and I’m not stupid enough to taunt a waterbender surrounded by ice and snow. Again.”

“Do you want to accuse Yutu now? We have enough men here we could fight him.”

“I don’t want to fight him. I don’t want him to injury anyone else.” Sokka rubbed at his neck.

“You think he threatened your life?” Hakoda asked. He didn’t let Sokka answer as he seemed to figure it out right away. “Of course he would have. Zuko would have fought unless you were threatened. He wouldn’t have left you alone like that.”

“So what do we do?”

“We’ll have to sneak up on Yutu. Bato has some rope we can use. I’ll signal him to help out.” Sokka watched as his father did a couple short movements and Bato nodded in understanding. It didn’t seem like it meant anything to Sokka. “Let’s talk with Yutu to distract him.”

Sokka nodded and took the lead. Thankfully Yutu wasn’t close to the other men. “Yutu, I told my dad about Zuko.”

“I’m told I have you to thank for saving my sons life.”

“I was only protecting the Tribe. It-“ Yutu was cut off with a scream as Bato pulled his arms back and tied in rope. “What is that for?!”

“You lied when you said Zuko attacked us. There’s no way he would have done that. He would never hurt me.”

“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think you do.”

“There is no one who knows Zuko more.” That might a bit of a stretch as there was Uncle but Sokka knew Zuko was also hesitant. Some things couldn’t be said yet.

“Yutu, you will tell us where the Firelord is.” Hakoda demanded.

“Or what? What will you do if I refuse?” He snarled. “If you kill me, you won’t get any answer. If you think you can torture me, you’re wrong. I won’t give you anything.”

“The Tribe will judge you for what you’ve done.”

Yutu laughed. “By the time you bring me back to the Tribe, he’ll be dead so it won’t matter.”

“You’ll start a war if he dies here!” Hakoda yelled. He punched Yutu in the face and went to punch him again when Sokka stopped him.

“Zuko is a firebender. He swam in the waters of the Northern Water Tribe. He’s stubborn. He could survive. Unless he doesn’t have his bending. You’re not a chi blocker so how did Zuko lose his bending?”

“Smart boy.” Yutu smiled. “I gave him a little something to block his bending and knock him out.”

“So where is he?”

“You’re smart. Figure it out.” He shrugged.

Sokka tried to focus on the area and figure out where Zuko would be. He kept worrying about his friend he couldn’t focus. If he couldn’t find Zuko, he would die.

~~~~

Zuko couldn’t move anymore. He was shivering and could hear his teeth chatter. It was so cold. He still didn’t have his bending and had no clue when it would come back. He also hadn’t done much to remove the ice around him. Now he was too cold to move. The cold seeped into his bones, freezing him from the inside out.

His eyes became heavier and heavier. Each time he closed his eyes, it took more energy to open them back up. He wasn’t going to make it. He was going to freeze out here in the cold.

“Sokka... I’m sorry...” Zuko muttered as the darkness crept in. He didn’t try to open his eyes again.

~~~~

“It should be this way!” Sokka yelled, taking the lead. He figured out where Zuko might be and now it was a race against time to rescue him. From the length of time Sokka was out and the area surrounding, it could only be one of two places.

Hakoda wasn’t far behind Sokka along with two waterbenders. Bato and the rest the men took Yutu back to the Tribe to wait sentencing.

“Sokka, look!” Hakoda pointed to Sokka’s left. It took a minute for Sokka to find what Hakoda was pointing out, but once he did, he knew it was where Zuko was.

“That’s gotta be it! It’s just like what Yutu covered us in. And it’s hidden enough no one would notice.”

As soon as they got close enough, the waterbenders opened up the igloo and Sokka’s heart dropped. Zuko was encased in ice and sitting in cold water. He had to be freezing.

“Zuko!” Sokka scrambled towards Zuko and tried to pull him out of the water. Zuko wasn’t moving at all. It wasn’t until the waterbenders removed the ice could Sokka pull Zuko out. He watched as they removed the water from his body and his clothing. “We gotta warm him up!”

Hakoda already had his parka off. “Here, put this on him.” Sokka did as he was told.

“We can use the snow and ice to get us back to the Tribe quickly with waterbending.” The one waterbender, Kallik, said.

Sokka nodded and the two waterbenders created an island of ice to carry the four of them through the snow. Sokka held onto Zuko, trying to warm him up. Hakoda came up to the other side of Zuko and did the same that Sokka was doing. Sokka didn’t even have to ask his father what he was doing.

“Do you think he’ll make it dad?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll do our best.”

~~~~

Zuko felt warmth inside and outside his body. It was odd because last he remembered he was freezing. He could feel a fire, could feel warm covers, and could feel his inner fire. He was warm.

“Zuko?”

He knew that voice. That voice was calming. Grounding. Comforting.

“Sokka? Is that you?” He blinked a few times as it was still too bright for him. “Where am I?”

“You’re safe.” Sokka smiled. “In my bed actually but I figured you wouldn’t mind that.”

“You found me.”

“Of course I did. I’m smart. I told you I could find you in a blizzard. Though I didn’t mean it literal.”

“Thank you.”

“You know I couldn’t lose you. It’ll take a lot more than a psycho waterbender determined to kill the Firelord and possibly start a war to get rid of me.”

“I know.” Zuko grabbed Sokka’s hand. 

“You should rest. Katara will have my head if I keep you up.”

“Don’t go. Not yet. Stay... stay here with me. Please?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is reading my Burning Waters fic, the name Yutu is in there as well. Not the same Yutu. I just needed a name and used the same. Dude evil so it’s okay. 😂


End file.
